2023-09-12 11:01:02
Colombia players celebrating the winning goal against Venezuela last Thursday.
Photo: EFE – Mauricio Dueñas Castañeda
In their second outing for the South American qualifying round, Chile and Colombia will meet this Tuesday in Santiago, the first with an aging team and without major expectations, while the coffee growers wait for the magic of Luis Díaz to shore up their chances of going to the 2026 World Cup.
Colombia will face a Chilean team as a visitor that continues to depend on the latest cartridges of the golden generation that won the Copa América in 2015 and 2016, its only international titles.
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Chile has just lost 3-1 to Uruguay in Montevideo, while the Colombian team beat Venezuela 1-0 in Barranquilla.
The duel will be played at the Monumental stadium in Santiago, starting at 7:30 pm, with the refereeing of the Venezuelan Jesús Valenzuela, supported on the lines by Jorge Urrego and Tulio Moreno.
Key 1: Luis Díaz’s speed
The team led by Argentine Néstor Lorenzo barely showed signs of good performance against the Venezuelans.
Díaz, a winger for English Liverpool, is called to be the Colombian figure on the long road to North America. Although he did not score, he painted the faces of his rivals with some magic.
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Against Venezuela, Lorenzo saw a growing team. “You grow when you win, not when you lose because you learn what to do to not lose, but you don’t grow,” he analyzed.
But we have “a lot to improve against Chile, especially the exit and triangulations, which have to be more precise,” added the strategist.
Key 2: without Alexis Sánchez?
Alexis Sánchez (34 years old) is La Roja’s top scorer with 51 goals, but the Inter Milan attacker came to these qualifying rounds with almost three months of inactivity. He hasn’t played since June 20.
His physical condition is unknown, because he was not even a substitute against Uruguay. He stayed in Chile to add minutes against Colombia.
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In Uruguay no one took his baton and Chile’s offensive weight was almost zero. The Chilean-English Ben Brereton tried, but he does not have the influence of the top scorer.
Sánchez “is an option, he is an important player who opens the attack with quality, he is a top player, important for us and we will surely include him in the starting team,” said coach Eduardo Berizzo.
Key 3: a Chilean spare part that does not start
Chile depends on its old glories. The goal of honor scored in the defeat in Uruguay was the work of veteran Arturo Vidal (36 years old), who had to come on from the bench in the 74th minute to revolutionize the team.
Gary Medel (36) and Charles Aránguiz (34) started against the Celeste, and Alexis Sánchez would have started if the lack of continuity had not affected him.
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Their replacements are also unable to step on their heels, and the team’s sporting level makes them look increasingly distant from competing on an equal footing against the other South American teams.
Since Eduardo Berizzo took office in May 2022, Chile has only been able to win three times: against Cuba, the Dominican Republic and with suffering against Paraguay, all friendly.
This would be the possible alignment of Colombia vs. Chili
Colombia: Camilo Vargas – Daniel Muñoz, Yerry Mina, John Lucumí, Deiver Machado – Jefferson Lerma, Juan Cuadrado, Jhon Arias, Mateus Uribe – Luis Díaz and Rafael Santos Borré.
This would be the possible alignment of Chile vs. Colombia
Chile: Brayan Cortés – Nayel Mehssatou, Gary Medel, Guillermo Maripán, Gabriel Suazo – Erick Pulgar, Charles Aránguiz, Diego Valdés, Arturo Vidal, Alexander Aravena and Ben Brereton.
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